Soo... when does this hobby pay for itself?

[Tom]

Just think, Every sip you take is tax money Obama doesn't get!

Careful guys// Nothing political,, remember the rules Or you can be banned of scolded !

 

[jet]

Careful guys// Nothing political,, remember the rules Or you can be banned of scolded !

That's ironic, since there's a Sarah Palin ad on this page.

 

[Repsolal]

Absolutely a money saving rewarding hobby in my house.
Started with new equipment but then started checking out used stuff and added
hundreds of bottles and 6 more carboys for next to nothing. Consuming 60 gals of homemade wines a year very quickly pays for equipment compared to buying
it. After 3 years, we now have a 400 bottle collection of nicely aged wines consisting of a mix of various whites, reds and fruit wines.

 

[Wade E]

That's ironic, since there's a Sarah Palin ad on this page.

There is? I have not noticed it but its probably a Google add which I have no control over without changing tons of settings which would also stop lots of traffic from new wine makers due to ease of this site getting noticed. Politics are a matter I would also like to keep off any forum as it can really start problems between members views and just not worth it.

 

[Runningwolf]

I have noticed different pop up ads on the site also, but they seem related to things I have looked up previously on other sites. I believe those are related to our computer/software settings and not actually this forum.

 

[JohnT]

Sorry folks,

I did not mean to be political. I just wanted to say that this hobby pays for itself in that, if done correctly, we can get good quality wine at a fraction of the cost. Tax savings being a major contributer to the savings.

I hope that I did not offend anyone.

johnT.

 

[FlavorSeeker]

Once you find a supply of free fruit or wine grapes, free bottles help too.

I'm just up the road, near Harrisburg. Can I get a piece of that action (free fruit/grapes and/or bottles?

 

[Wade E]

John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!

 

[Runningwolf]

John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!

Hummmmm, I think I can relate to that. But you know Wade we've talked before about the fact that we never take fancy vacations either which allows us to afford some toys.

 

[JohnT]

John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!

True!

But I figure that this is my only "hobby". There are other hobbies that people end up spending a whole lot more and do not get nearly the same amount of enjoyment.

But I digress.... I figure that I spend perhaps $3.50 per bottle of wine. I would have to spend at least $10 per bottle more. Let's say I save $120.00 per case. (I live close to NYC where NOTHING is cheap)

I will not take too much wine to justify the purchase of your new press!

 

[Midwest Vintner]

going commercial will pay for itself........................................someday

 

[FlavorSeeker]

going commercial will pay for itself........................................someday

Now you're talking!

 

[mxsteve625]

I agree with Wade. As long as we keep investing in new toys to help us along, this hobby will NEVER pay for itself. Oh well, that's OK.

 

[Wade E]

Im ok with that also and will never stop buying the toys! Bwaaaahaaahaaa! I sort of started this hobby to save money but that went out the window long ago and I never looked back!

 

[JohnT]

Wade,

You just need to use the equipment you have, but make a higher volume. (spead out the equipment cost over more bottles).. That is (at least) how I explain things to my wife!

 

[Sirs]

I look at it this way, we all waste money on one thing or another at least this way we not only get the enjoyment of doing somethnig we like but also get the wine from it too.

 

[Larryh86GT]

It's nice to have a supportive spouse also. Monday morning I spotted a fruit crusher on eBay I wanted. I called out to my wife who was in the kitchen - "Hon-I'm thinking of spending $$$ on eBay. She calls back - "What are you spending $$$ on?" I say " a fruit crusher" - She says "OK". A couple key strokes later it was mine.

 

[JohnT]

It's nice to have a supportive spouse also. Monday morning I spotted a fruit crusher on eBay I wanted. I called out to my wife who was in the kitchen - "Hon-I'm thinking of spending $$$ on eBay. She calls back - "What are you spending $$$ on?" I say " a fruit crusher" - She says "OK". A couple key strokes later it was mine.

I could not agree more. My wife lives with hundreds of pounds of grapes fermenting in the house. She does not even drink, but enjoys making wine.

 

[jdammer]

It's funny. I went to a new local winery the other day. After talking to the manager I found out they still bottle all their wines one at a time. Use a hand corker. One person puts on the labels and the last person uses a heat gun to put on the capsules. If they can bottle thousands of bottles this way it makes me realize that I don't need all of those fancy toys. ha

 

[WineyMike]

I started reloading rifle cartridges years ago to "save money". I cut my cost to 33% but shot 3 times as much. Winemaking is about the same. I spend at least as much money as before but get much more fun per dollar.